• Digital Battlespace

  Paris Air Show 2013: Thales furthers UAV data link development

  14th June 2013

  Thales is due to complete a study that will assess the possibility of integrating its Thales Modem for Air (TMA) 6000 wideband airborne data link …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  SAIC to support Air Combat Command RPVs

  14th June 2013

  Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) will provide operations and maintenance (O&M) services in support of the Air Combat Command (ACC) Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) under …

• Digital Battlespace

  L-3 wins Australian SATCOM terminal contract

  22nd May 2013

  The Australian Defence Force (ADF) has selected L-3 Communications to supply 51 Hawkeye III Lite 1.2-meter Very Small Aperture Terminals (VSATs) as part of its …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Succesful DeSIRE flight announced

  26th April 2013

  EDA and ESA announce succesful civil UAS integration trial The European Defence Agency (EDA) and the European Space Agency (ESA) announced on 26 April the …

• Military Logistics

  RAF augments air transport fleet with new aircraft

  18th April 2013

  The Royal Air Force (RAF) has taken delivery of two BAe 146-200 Quick Change (QC) aircraft from BAE System following their conversion into military tactical …

• Digital Battlespace

  Satellite 2013: US seeks smarter approach to SATCOM

  22nd March 2013

  The US will not introduce a next-generation MILSATOM constellation until beyond 2025, instead increasing capacity through existing network and terminal advances and commercial augmentation. Current …

• Defence Helicopter

  Hughes achieves distortion free SATCOM on rotary platforms

  19th March 2013

  Hughes Network Systems has successfully demonstrated the loss-free transmission of high-throughput data and video over SATCOM links from a variety of rotary platforms, the company …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  SMSS successfully operated via satellite control

  20th February 2013

  Lockheed Martin has successfully demonstrated the ability for the Squad Mission Support System (SMSS) to be operated via satellite at a distance of more than …

• Digital Battlespace

  Thales to extend French full-IP theatre network

  18th February 2013

  Thales will carry out work to extend the full-IP network that supports convergence between French armed forces’ theatre networks to the entire Syracuse military SATCOM …

• Digital Battlespace

  West 2013: US Navy trials 4G communication links

  1st February 2013

  The US Navy started trials in January to validate 4G cellular long-term evolution (LTE) technology as a possible intra-vessel high performance broadband communications system.    …

• Digital Battlespace

  General Dynamics details US Army MUOS upgrade award

  25th January 2013

  General Dynamics has received an order from the US Army for upgrade kits that will enable the force’s AN/PRC-155 two-channel Manpack radios to communicate with …

• Digital Battlespace

  Thales to upgrade NATO protected SATCOM capability

  25th January 2013

  Thales will upgrade the protected SATCOM capability of NATO under a new contract announced on 25 January. The award, issued by the NATO Communications and …

• Digital Battlespace

  Thales Link 16 satcom solution successfully deployed

  7th December 2012

  The Thales solution for long-range Link 16 transmission of tactical data via satellite has been successfully deployed by French soldiers for the first time. The …

• Defence Helicopter

  Sikorsky MH-60R wins Danish Maritime Helicopter competition

  21st November 2012

  The Danish Ministry of Defence has announced that it will acquire the Sikorsky/Lockheed Martin MH-60R Seahawk as its new maritime helicopter.  The Romeo has beaten …

• Digital Battlespace

  Northrop Grumman to extend BACN connectivity

  27th September 2012

  Northrop Grumman has been awarded a contract modification by the US Air Force (USAF) to add beyond-line-of-sight command and control (BLOS C2) capabilities to the …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Dominator XP [Thailand]

  Programme Background Purchase As reported by Shephard, in September 2023, the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) inducted three Dominator XPs. The RTAF purchased the trio ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  MALE Combat Drones [Thailand]

  Programme Background Roadmap In February 2024, the RTAF unveiled its White Paper 2024. Incorporating lessons from the Russo-Ukrainian War, the Israel-Hamas War, and other events ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  CH-47F Chinook (Singapore)

  Programme Background In July 2020, photos have emerged on the internet of the first Boeing CH-47F Chinook destined for the Republic of Singapore Air Force ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Anka-S (Second Batch) [Turkey]

  Programme Background First Batch Based on comments by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) and Turkish media in 2018, Shephard believes that Türkiye acquired 26 Anka-S drones ...

• Fast attack/patrol craft and interceptors

  New Water Jet Fast Attack Craft (NWJFAC) (India)

  Programme Background Requirements The Indian Navy is seeking replacements for a large proportion of its 19 46-49m-long waterjet-powered fast attack craft, several of which are approaching ...

• Military UAS - small

  Mini RPAS (High Altitude)

  Programme Background The Indian Army has initiated several tenders aiming to procure micro UAVs, but there has been little progress in following through with these ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  AdvaNced airCraft Infrastructure-Less Launch And RecoverY (ANCILLARY) [US]

  Programme Background Aims & Timeline As stated by DARPA, the ANCILLARY programme aims to develop and fly an X-plane that will provide a "leap-ahead" in long-endurance, ...

• APCs/IFVs - 4x4

  Portugal VTLB

  Programme Background The Portuguese Army planned to allocate funds for the procurement of 167 VTLBs during the Military Programming Law running from 2015 until 2026. ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Akinci [Turkey]

  Programme Background Unveiling & Testing Unveiled at TEKOFEST Istanbul Aviation, Space and Technology Festival in September 2019, the Akinci completed its first flight in December 2019. In June 2021, ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - HALE

  RQ-4 Global Hawk (Japan)

  Programme Background Selection & Contract AwardIn 2015, Northrop Grumman's RQ-4 Global Hawk UAS and E-2D Advanced Hawkeye airborne early warning aircraft were selected by Japan to ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  DTIF GUARD (Ireland)

  Programme Background The Problem As stated by the project's website, Ireland is the "softest target in EU for smugglers" due to its 3171km of coastline, ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  MQ-9B SkyGuardian - Forecasted Units (Belgium)

  Programme Background Strategic Vision 2030  In 2016, the Belgian MoD published its Strategic Vision 2030 report. In this, it highlighted the need for MALE reconnaissance drones ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  MQ-9B SkyGuardian (Belgium)

  Programme Background Contract On 26 March 2019, the US State Department announced that it had approved a possible FMS of four MQ-9B SkyGuardians for an estimated cost ...

• APCs/IFVs - 8x8

  Boxer MIV [UK]

  Programme Background History The UK MoD announced in March 2018 that it would re-join the Boxer programme and pursue a sole-source acquisition of the 8x8 ...

• Military UAS - small

  Heavy Lift Capability (UASHLC) [UK]

  Programme Background Requirement & Objective The RN identified a requirement to acquire an RPAS to transport cargo and supplies between ships and personnel. When mature, it ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• UAS: communication systems

  Aviator UAV 200

  Cobham’s UAV 200 is a satcom solution designed to enhance a tactical UAV’s performance, range and payload flexibility in a number of applications.This including SAR, ...

• USV-450

  The SeaRobotics USV-450 is a lightweight USV designed for survey/surveillance, hydrographic data-gathering and general-purpose sensor transport. 

• Military - USVs

  USV-550

  The USV-550 can be used for shallow-water survey/surveillance, hydrographic data-gathering, general-purpose sensor transport and small ROV deployment. 

• UAS: communication systems

  BlackRay 1000

  The BlackRay 1000 is a ruggedised two-way SATCOM terminal for the UAV market with built-in modem and ACU. It is customisable to meet most UAS ...

• Military - USVs

  USV-11000

  The SeaRobotics USV-11000 is a long-endurance USV that can be used for military and civil missions. This includes coastal/offshore survey, hydrographic data-gathering, harbour security/surveillance, ROV ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  Shadow M2

  The Shadow M2 builds on the Shadow 200, but has greater endurance and payload capability, quieter and more reliable propulsion and an optional SATCOM capability ...

• UAS: communication systems

  LAISR ULW

  Developed by Inmarsat Government, the Lightweight Airborne ISR System - Ultra Lightweight (LAISR ULW) is an L-Band SATCOM terminal providing beyond-line-of-sight (BLOS) connectivity for SWaP-constrained ...

• Maritime patrol, Trainer

  DA42 MPP Pandion

  The DA42 MultiPurpose Platform (MPP) Pandion is a lightweight MPA, designed to carry out various missions, including coastal surveillance, training, anti-piracy, oil spill detection and ...

• UAS: communication systems

  Airborne Broadband SATCOM

  ViaSat’s airborne SATCOM services offer worldwide access and a range of service levels, providing connectivity and performance options tailored to meet a variety of needs. ...

• Air: Radio and SATCOM

  ELK-1882T NC2

  Produced by Elta Systems (a subsidiary of IAI), ELK-1882T NC2 SATCOM terminals provide secure BLOS communications for fighter and special mission aircraft. The terminals utilise software-defined ...

• Land: battle management systems

  SCC Titan

  The server-based Situational Command and Control (SCC) Titan system is broken down into an HQ and a field-ready tactical satellite package, both designed to offer ...

• Military - USVs

  USV-5700

  The USV-5700, which is also designated USV 5.7, is a catamaran that can be used for military and civil missions. This includes coastal/offshore survey, hydrographic ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - small

  Integrator ER

  The Integrator Extended Range (ER) is a multi-mission modular small-UAV manufactured by Insitu. A variant of the Integrator, the ER is differentiated by its SATCOM BLOS communications ...

• Land: Radio and SATCOM

  RF-7800B-VU104

  This land mobile broadband global area network (BGAN) SATCOM terminal provides a tactical radio network capability within the Falcon III multi-band radio family. The RF-7800B-VU104 ...

• Military - USVs

  USV-Collapsible

  The USV-Collapsible can be used for surveying, hydrographic data-gathering, harbour security/surveillance and general-purpose sensor transport. It can also be collapsed into a small shipping crate ...